Self hypnosis agitation

Hi. I tried a tape for self hypnosis for anxiety and I felt immense restlessness as the session continued. At first I felt relaxed, then I almost started to dose off and then I got very very restless. I was moving my legs, throwing them in the air and towards the end I started shaking my head. It was my first time with hypnosis and I've been having very bad anxiety recently but the time I started hypnosis I was relatively calm and not anxious. I can't go into the session relaxed because if I was able to relax I wouldn't need hypnosis.

"I can't go into the session relaxed because if I was able to relax I wouldn't need hypnosis."

You've got it a bit assbackwards there. Being relaxed is a prelude to hypnosis, not hypnosis itself. When your mind is at rest and your body relaxed your subconscious is then much more amenable to and accepting of positive hypnotic suggestions and mental imagery.

Under normal circumstances anyone can relax simply by lying or sitting down comfortably somewhere quiet and private and allowing muscles and limbs to loosen and by breathing quite slowly, deeply and regularly, closing your eyes and mentally evoking a scene in your mind which you associate with calm and tranquillity.

I've never heard of anyone doing that and then finding themselves spontaneously shaking their legs and head around.